Harbour Hopper operator considers export project

The Harbour Hopper drives along Argyle Street next to Grand Parade. (FILE)

American military engineers of the 1950s would be amazed, and hopefully flattered, were they to visit Halifax today.

First, the slow-moving, slate-grey vehicles they sent into Vietnam were painted with cheerful frogs and used to truck loads of tourists. Second, under a planned expansion of Harbour Hopper Tours, more of the amphibious LARCs will be built from scratch with a 21st-century twist.

“Long-term plan is, we’re going to be developing a prototype machine with the existing hulls of the amphibious LARCs with an electrically powered hybrid system, thus reducing emissions and making them more of a green machine,” said Jeff Farwell, president of Murphy’s The Cable Wharf, which owns Harbour Hopper Tours.

“We could get to a point where we’re exporting five to 10 million dollars a year in these vehicles if the right model fits.”

The name LARC stands for Lighter, Amphibious, Resupply, Cargo. The vehicles carry 40 passengers and drive about 45 kilometres per hour on land. About 950 were created, and when the Americans withdrew from Vietnam, they sank 500.

The first move is a Maritime expansion, said Farwell. Then the company wants to design and manufacture new vehicles and export them internationally.

Farwell said that over the years he has fielded questions from businesspeople in Dubai, Germany, Australia and elsewhere, and he believes there is reliable niche demand.

“It’s a smaller market, for sure, because you’re in the tour business, but certainly any spot around the world that has a lake, waterway, river, has potential for one of these, and that’s a lot of spots. We certainly have developed a model that works well and we can prove that it works and it makes sense to operate these things.”

With a fleet of four, Harbour Hopper Tours carries more passengers than any other Atlantic Canada tour operation, he said.

Farwell also believes the company has the largest inventory of the rare vehicles in North America. On top of the four in use, it has seven unpainted hulls and four vehicles recently purchased from a defunct Victoria company.

Those extras would help Harbour Hopper test the idea of bringing the trademark vehicles to Sydney, Saint John, N.B., and Charlottetown.

After the hulls run out, international exports would be built with old design plans. They would likely be aluminum, like the original LARCs, but the company will also consider fibreglass and other materials, said Farwell.

With a provincial productivity and innovation voucher, the company has developed a new braking system for its current fleet, and Nova Scotia Community College faculty are also helping develop the new prototype, which will use off-the-shelf parts, Farwell said. The designers weren’t available for comment Wednesday.

“The running costs of the vehicle will be much less because (we’ll) have lower emissions, lower costs of fuel.”

About 100 LARCs are privately owned worldwide, according to the Harbour Hopper website.

Farwell said it’s crucial to keep the “look and feel” of the Hoppers.

“We think they’re the best because they look very militant. They have a cool factor because of that.”